[e-privacy] [EFF] Posta anonima e "intrusione" in sistemi informatici

[Andrea Glorioso]

FYI

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* Law Firm Shows Ignorance of the Law in Anonymous Email 
Case

EFF Sends Letter of Protest to Shearman & Sterling Over 
Subpoena to Craigslist

San Francisco, CA -   When  an employee   of  San Francisco law   firm
Shearman  & Sterling  received an email  from an  anonymous person who
seemed to be  a  disgruntled subordinate, he   didn't hit the   delete
button.  Instead, his firm subpoenaed craigslist, a community bulletin
board  where the  email  first appeared  as a  posting,  in order   to
discover the identity of the "Jane Doe."

The firm justified its actions by  arguing that the alleged employee's
email was a form  of "trespass" on Shearman's  computer  systems.  The
implication of    this claim is   far-reaching.  Contradicting binding
precedent, Shearman proposes a  rule that would  mean anyone who sends
an email  faces legal liability.  It  would allow  email recipients to
track  down anonymous correspondents simply  to punish  them for being
annoying or offensive.

EFF has written   an open letter  to Shearman  urging it  to  drop the
subpoena.  "The Constitution   does not permit subpoenas for  identity
just because someone was upset,"  said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl.
"While it  is    unfortunate that a  Shearman   employee   received an
offensive email message, Shearman cannot manufacture a cause of action
out of thin air just so it can unmask an anonymous speaker."

In its letter, EFF reminds Shearman of the long tradition of US courts
protecting anonymous  speech,  and  argues  that  the   law  firm  has
demonstrated  no legal  cause of action  because it  did not show  how
receiving a single email  message caused harm.  Indeed, the California
Supreme Court ruled two years  ago in Intel  v. Hamidi that sending an
email is not a form of trespass.

For this release:
<http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_04.php#003514>

For the open letter:
<http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity/OpenLetterShearman.pdf>
(PDF)

--
Andrea Glorioso             sama at miu-ft.org         +39 333 820 5723
        .:: Media Innovation Unit - Firenze Tecnologia ::.
	      Conquering the world for fun and profit
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